‘Purple Hearts’ Ending Explained: How Does Netflix’s Fake Dating Romance End?

If you’re craving a classic fake-dating romance, look no further than Purple Hearts on Netflix, which began streaming today.

Directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, with a screenplay by Kyle Jarrow and Liz W. Garcia, Purple Hearts tells the story of two very different people who, for plot reasons, find themselves married despite being basically strangers. Of course, just because a relationship is fake doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t real. This is Hollywood, after all.

That said, not every fake marriage ends happily. For the couple in Purple Hearts, the stakes are particularly high, given that their fraudulent marriage is a crime in the eyes of the U.S. military. So do Cassie and Luke get together in Purple Hearts? If you want to know what you’re getting into ahead of time, read on for Decider’s breakdown of the Purple Hearts plot summary and the Purple Hearts ending, explained.

Warning: Major Purple Hearts spoilers ahead.

WHAT IS PURPLE HEARTS ABOUT? PURPLE HEARTS PLOT SUMMARY:

Cassie (played by singer Sofia Carson) is an aspiring singer-songwriter who spends her days waitressing, struggling to pay her medical bills to cover her insulin for diabetes. Meanwhile, Luke (Nicholas Galitzine), is a Marine and former drug addict who needs money, fast, in order to pay off past debts to his dealer.

One day, when Cassie is at the end of her rope, in desperate need of better health insurance, she asks her Marine friend Frankie (Chosen Jacobs) to marry her, so that she can get the military health benefits. Luke happens to overhear the offer. At first, he is staunchly against the idea—his dad is a retired military police officer, and he knows the consequences of a fraudulent marriage are serious. But a threatening visit from his former dealer changes his mind. Married Marines get more money, so he ties the knot with Cassie.

Luke deploys to Iraq, and exchanges letters and FaceTime calls with Cassie, to make the marriage seem believable. But then the unthinkable happens: Cassie’s friend Frankie is killed in combat, while Luke sustains an injury that leaves him in a wheelchair. Not knowing what to do, Cassie goes to Luke’s father and tells him his son has been injured, and that she is his wife. Now, under the watchful eye of Luke’s father, Cassie and Luke must live together and keep up the marriage facade while Luke recovers.

The plot thickens when that former drug dealer of Luke’s suspects his marriage is a fraud and breaks into his new mother-in-law’s home. Luke takes care of that by roughing the guy up a little, before paying the money he owes. Meanwhile, Luke and Cassie are starting to fall in love for real… until Cassie finds out about that drug dealer. Luke confesses he is a former addict, and he and Cassie fight. Cassie kicks Luke out, and tells Luke to tell his family that they are getting divorced.

WHAT IS THE PURPLE HEARTS ENDING EXPLAINED?

The drug dealer snitches and Luke is charged with fraud and detained by the military. He and Cassie are called to trial. Against his attorney’s advice, Luke makes a statement to the court, in which he claims that he tricked Cassie into marrying him, that she didn’t know it was against the law, and takes all of the blame. He is sentenced to six months in prison and dishonorably discharged. Cassie is let off without any charges.

Cassie’s band has taken off big time, and they play a gig opening for Florence and the Machine. Cassies sings an emotional love song for Luke, and then rushes off to meet Luke before he begins his military prison sentence. Cassie delivers a big romantic speech to Luke, tells him she loves him and promises to wait for him. Luke gives her his wedding ring, and tells her to take care of it, “because it’s real now.”

Over the credits, we see footage of Luke and Cassie, now happily married. Sure, he had to go to jail for six months, but it’s still a happily ever after.